John Dashwood Chapter 1

Narrator, “He was not an ill-disposed young man, unless to be rather selfish, is to be ill-disposed: but he was, in general well respected; for he conducted himself with propriety in the discharge of his normal duties” (11). This section helped me understand Mr. Dashwood’s character and society’s requirements. This helped me realize that society's expectations and requirements are quite selfish. An example of which I took away was if you present yourself with propriety you would gain respect.
Mrs. John Dashwood, “‘What on earth can four women want for more then that? - They will live so cheap’” (18)! This quote was the first to really help me understand the time period. How it did that was by the language with the amount of sexism, Prior to reading this book I knew there was sexism in the time period, as well as there was many years before and after. However it did help somewhat and narrow it down to a

smaller chunk.
Marianne, “‘I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own.

He must enter into all my feelings; the same books, the same music must charm us both’” (23). This was a very crucial quote for me, it really helped me understand how meticulous they were about their potential love interests. They had to be interested in the same music, authors, books, composers, and everything of that nature. This was the first portion of the book that stuck out to me about their particularities.
Narrator, “Many were the tears shed by them in their last adieus to a place so much beloved” (33). This excerpt really made the struggle of their move more visible to me. The hardship didn’t become clear until I began to deeply think about it. They didn’t have any cars, planes, or any ways of transportation besides a carriage, so there was no easy way to visit. Also they didn’t have phones or any form of social media, meaning their only way to stay connected with the people they were leaving behind was letters, but they took a long time to reach one

another.
Narrator: “The manner in which Miss. Steele had spoken of Edward increased her curiosity, for it struck her as rather ill-natured and suggested the suspicion of that lady’s knowing or fancying herself to know, something to his disadvantage. But her curiosity was unavailing for no farther notice was taken of Mr. Ferrars’s name by Miss. Steele when alluded to or even openly mention by Sir John” (125). This selection of text helped me interpret the relationship between Mr. Ferrars and Miss. Steele. The way that she talked about him gave me the idea of a prediction of a relationship before I read that they had one. This helped me realize that they tend to talk highly of their significant other.
Elinor: “‘Your expenses both in town and country must certainly be considerable, but your income is a large one’” (218). This was one of the many paragraphs that helped me understand the importance of wealth in this novel. Many times in this novel money and income was a topic of converation. Several times it appeared as it was a competition to see who had or made more money. I felt like much of the book was focused on money.